The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) board, which was recently established under President Bola Tinubu, has been denounced by the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).
According to reports, Bashir Bayo Ojulari was named the new CEO of NNPCL by President Tinubu. Adedapo Segun was also named the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the business.
Austin Avuru (South-South), David Ige (South-West), Henry Obih (South-East), Bello Rabiu (North-West), Yusuf Usman (North-East), and Babs Omotowa (North-Central) are among the other directors appointed.
Obiuwevbi Ominimini, the spokesperson for PANDEF, charged the president with marginalizing the South-South in an interview with Arise News on Wednesday.
He claimed that although the majority of the gas flaring and crude oil production that support the nation’s economy takes place in the region, the president neglected to take this into account when appointing the CEO of NNPCL.
PANDEF requested that the President choose a South-South individual to lead the NNPCL and dissolve the board he had established.
He went on to say that Austin Avuru, who was appointed to a non-executive role on the board, was capable of leading NNPCL.
He said: “I want to say very clearly right now that the people in the South-South geopolitical zone, which is the region that generates the most gas and oil in this country, are very sorry. Indeed, we ought to have anticipated that Mr. President would have chosen the NNPCL CEO from the area that produces the majority of the company’s oil.
Because we are treated like second-class citizens in a nation where we provide the resources that keep Nigeria afloat, the entire South-South geopolitical zone has been reclaimed today. It is not possible for you to reassemble the NNPC board and add a non-executive member. It’s not fair. It’s unfair. Actually, it disproves the equity concept.
As a result, PANDEF is urging President Tinubu to make sure that this composition is destroyed and that the NNPC CEO be chosen from the South South geopolitical zone. We make the oil. The burden of oil production falls primarily on us.
Only a nation like Nigeria still has gas flare penalties today. Furthermore, the residents of the area are not even subject to the gas flare penalty. Given that the government is now considering increasing gas production to approximately 8 billion cubic feet and increasing crude oil production to roughly 2 million barrels per day, it is imperative that the Chief Executive of NNPCL be located in the region that bears the brunt of oil production.
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“Because those in charge of affairs don’t take the local population into account when we’re not around.” Consider that we flare gas. It is possible to convert this gas for household consumption. Additionally, this gas flare shortens our lives. We are therefore unhappy with the board’s reorganization, which includes a non-executive member from the South-South geopolitical zone.
The CEO position is open to Mr. Austin Avuru, who was appointed as a non-executive member. There are a lot of competent Niger Delta residents who could serve as NNPCL’s CEO.
